News and Press

It’s an anniversary we won’t soon forget, and another milestone for a nation. January 12th of this year marked the 5th anniversary of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010. It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since that disastrous event, which took the lives of far too many and left hundreds of thousands of others with incomprehensible injury and untold sadness. Broken limbs, wounds, lacerations, and infections demanded immediate and highly skilled attention—demand that could not be met by a country reeling from this level of devastation. The earthquake was a disaster where the injured needed plastic and reconstructive surgery at a level never seen before.

It’s even harder to believe that it’s been almost five years since a team from The Plastic Surgery Clinic arrived in Port-au-Prince for a week long mission. Our team set out to continue the debridement, skin grafting and reconstructive procedures performed by the previous volunteer surgeons. The line of patients who needed attention was never-ending, their suffering incomprehensible, and their strength in the face of hopelessness unbelievable. The experiences from that week in mid-February have stayed with each volunteer every single day since their return. It’s not just that you can’t forget such an impactful experience. It’s that you owe it to those who lost their lives to remember, to move forward, and to continue the hard work wherever there is suffering.

That’s why we’re so glad to continue working with Artists for Peace and Justice. This incredible organization supports long-term, sustainable development in direct partnership with the Haitian people. They believe in empowering local communities, fostering economic growth, and the power of education to change a nation. They provide education, scholarships, healthcare, and other fundamental resources to a country where more than 50% of the population still lives in extreme poverty.

Haiti has come a long way since the earthquake five years ago, but there is still so much work to be done. You can contribute by donating to APJ, an organization that follows a 100% policy. Every single publicly-donated penny donated goes directly to programs in Haiti. The need for long term commitment is essential in order to create true change, and APJ is wholly committed to the ongoing project of empowering a new generation of Haitian leaders who will continue to help Haiti rebuild to become stronger than ever before.

To find out more on the 2010 Haiti Relief Mission, read Dr. Lista’s personal journal from the trip:

Dr. Lista appears in the latest issue of Elevate magazine for a special feature all about weight loss and eliminating stubborn, unwanted fat. He offers his expert advice in regards to the latest revolutionary non-invasive procedures that can be used to get rid of fat cells.

As Dr. Lista explains, patients who are looking for reliable results with no surgery, no downtime, one of the best options available is CoolSculpting. Not only is it a highly effective non-invasive body contouring treatment, but it’s also an affordable option. For those looking to lose that last inch or two of fat from problem areas, including love handles, muffin top, inner and outer thighs, or the “bra roll” area, CoolSculpting literally freezes away the fat. Over the following weeks and months, your body naturally processes the dead cells and a more contoured figure is slowly revealed. Explaining the technology, Dr. Lista says, “fat freezes at a higher temperature than water, so if you apply something really cold to someone’s fat bulge, the fat cells are going to freeze but the skin won’t.” This means that you can safely eliminate those stubborn pockets of fat that don’t respond to diet or exercise without damaging any of the surrounding tissues. Treatment is safe, effective, and easy: many patients are comfortable enough to relax and enjoy reading, checking e-mail, or even taking a quick nap during a typical one hour session.

Most people see an undeniable reduction of fat after a single treatment, and additional sessions may further enhance results. You may start to see results as little as three weeks after treatment, though the most dramatic results tend to be apparent after about two months.

Congratulations to our injection and non-surgical specialist, RN Jenny! We are so proud to announce that she is now officially board certified in Aesthetic Nursing by the Plastic Surgical Nursing Certification Board (PSNCB) after passing her final examination.

So what does that mean? It means that Jenny has demonstrated a mastery of plastic and reconstructive surgical nursing knowledge and skills, including a familiarity with the latest advances in technology and patient management, and a comprehensive understanding of the principles necessary to create an effective plan for patient care. To qualify, the board required her to have several years of experience as a registered nurse in her area of specialty, to have spent at least 1,000 practice hours within that time perfecting her craft, and to receive endorsement from her supervising physician.

She is now officially qualified to include the CANS (Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist) certification beside her name. There are only five registered nurses in all of Canada who are qualified to do so, and The Plastic Surgery Clinic is thrilled to have one of them on our amazing staff team. We want our patients to know that when we say we want to provide the highest level of care possible, we really mean it. When you come in to receive injection treatments from Jenny, your health, safety, and appearance are in some of the most qualified hands in the entire country.

Well done, Jenny! We are so proud of your continued accomplishments a commitment to patient care.

Want Jenny’s expert advice on the go? Follow her on Twitter at @BeautyNurseTO to keep up with her latest tips and tricks.

When Renée Zellweger stepped out onto the red carpet at Elle’s recent Women in Hollywood event, she likely had no idea that the appearance of her face would dominate the news cycle for the many days that followed. Rampant speculation followed – it must have been a facelift! And a forehead lift! She must have had facial liposuction, too! These were among some of the many outlandish and inaccurate claims that popped up in our news feeds.

While Dr. Lista doesn’t usually agree to make media appearances to speculate on celebrity plastic surgery, when he was asked to join Mad Dog and Maura at Virgin Radio’s Breakfast Show to talk about Renée’s new look, he wanted to take the opportunity to explain what in his expert opinion was really only a minor procedure, hopefully putting an end to the needless continued scrutiny.

“I think that we haven’t seen her in a long time, she’s reached sort of a critical age — early 40’s — where your face changes a lot,” he explained. “She’s just grown older but I think she’s had something really minor done. I think she had her upper eyelids done, which were her most characteristic trait. Combined with facial aging where your face thins out a little bit and gets thinner and longer as you grow older, think the combination of that and a little minor procedure on the most unique part of her body and she looks totally different.”

More importantly, he added, “she looks beautiful, and she’s happy, so… who cares?”

Dr. Lista also explained how he wouldn’t be surprised if the motivation for this procedure was also for functional reasons. “If you look at her pictures from about five years ago, she had a really heavy upper eyelid, and that was her most characteristic trait and it looked like she was even having trouble seeing,” he observed. In Renée’s case, it appeared to be an inherited condition that contributed to her signature look, but also likely inhibited her sight. “I think that it was interfering with her vision and I think she didn’t like it. So that little minor thing, having an upper lid blepharoplasty, made all the difference for her.”

Aging in Hollywood continues to be a difficult endeavour, especially for women. “I think about being a celebrity and how horrible it is because they’re in a movie and they’re not seen for four or five years and then they come out and people say, “oh my god, you look so different, what did you do?”” Dr. Lista says. When something so simple can put a person’s face under the microscope, stir up so much conjecture, and dominate the 24-hour news cycle, sometimes it’s best to remind everyone once again: it’s her body and she’s happy. So who cares?

A new article posted to Medical Daily suggests that those who follow up weight loss surgery with plastic surgery to contour the body could be doing themselves an unparalleled favour in the long run. The data indicates that bariatric surgery alone cannot guarantee maintained weight loss. What this means is patients who undergo body contouring surgery after weight loss stand a better chance of keeping the weight off after undergoing lap band, gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, or gastric balloon procedures.

The results of the study were presented this past weekend at the annual conference of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in Chicago. The study followed 94 patients who underwent bariatric surgery, and out of that total, 47 underwent plastic surgery afterward in order to remove excess skin. This is often a side effect of significant weight loss. Although patients will lose a considerable amount of body fat, they find that they are left with loose skin that simply does not respond to the same lifestyle changes. This skin can really only be eliminated with some kind of surgical intervention. Researchers in this recently released study recorded each patient’s BMI (body mass index) once before bariatric surgery and once again 2.5 years later. As Dr. Donna Tepper explained, “of the patients who underwent contouring surgery, the average decrease in BMI was 18.24 at 2.5 years, compared to a statistically significant 12.45 at 2.5 years for those who did not have further surgery.”

Weight loss surgery has proved to be tremendously beneficial to thousands of obese patients every year. It’s a potentially life-saving option that can have positive secondary effects on obesity-related complications like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. However, the unwanted saggy skin it leaves behind does not lead to the kind of worry-free life many patients are anticipating, and the affect it has on body image can be detrimental to a patient’s efforts to keep the weight off in the long run. As Dr. Tepper says, “as plastic and reconstructive surgeons, we are encouraged by the idea that improved body image can translate into better long-term maintenance of a healthier weight, and possibly a better quality of life for our patients.”

The best part of our work at The Plastic Surgery Clinic is watching the ways in which plastic surgery can lead to a better quality of life for so many patients. We’re even more pleased when studies like this come out with conclusive proof that these surgeries not only lead to more happiness but also to improved health.